The Sky Painter ~ Louis Fuertes

I love the bright wings of birds as they fly, wild and free, high above me.

Louis loves to watch birds. His father wants him to study to become an engineer, but Louis dreams of being an artist. A bird artist. But instead of killing birds and painting from skins, he wants to paint living, flying birds in their habitat.

Ever since I moved to my home not-too-far from Ithaca, I have heard of the famous Louis Agassiz Fuertes. So I was doubly interested in reading Margarita Engle’s new book. I wanted to learn more about this local art & bird hero.

I like the way the story is written – in verse – and that each page or two is headed by a title: “Bird Art”; “Learning”; “Letting Birds Live”. Fuertes went on field expeditions to paint birds, so there is Alaska, the Caribbean, South America. And there are the gorgeous illustrations of parrots and waterfowl and more! This book makes me want to head outside with a sketchbook and crayons and look more closely at the birds in my habitat.

Head over to Archimedes Notebook for an interview with Margarita Engle and some beyond-the-book activities.